I woke up this morning with a Malamute-sized hole in my heart….we had to have Chico put to sleep yesterday. He has had degenerative myelopathy (similar to Lou Gehrig’s disease in humans) which progressively worsened over the past few months.  While he had a warrior spirit and a heart of gold, his poor rear legs got to the point where it became painful to walk and he spent most of his days sleeping.  I was blessed to be this boy’s Mom for five years after falling in love and adopting him from WAMAL.  He was the sweetest dog in the world and, while selective with friends, he loved his people pack to the moon and back, just like we loved him.

Earlier this month my mom and I noticed the rainbow image on his paw, and she suggested it might be a sign.  I know he is no longer in pain and is enjoying adventures with a lot of great people and pets over the Rainbow Bridge but he left this Mom and also his grandparents broken hearted here on earth.

Kaeto was such a special pup, who loved everyone in his life and was loved just as much in return.

Rest in peace Kaeto, no longer by our side but forever in our hearts.

Rest in peace, Princess Monster Truck. Love --Adam and Brie

We recently had to say goodbye to our sweet old girl, Swisher. We adopted her Labor Day 2010, she was estimated to be 5 or 6 years old and had been rescued (as Kali) from a puppy mill operation in Montana. We are forever grateful to WAMAL and all the fabulous volunteers who brought her to us.
Swisher was such a good girl; we also knew her as our hilarious goofball, a great trail runner in her prime, and we are so lucky to have been members of her pack.

Shyla was abandoned by her family when they moved out and left her. She was discovered chained up behind a shop almost a week after they had moved out...no food, no water and Shyla was in pretty rough shape. She was immediately taken to a vet and it was determined that Shyla's heart rate was very low and the vet couldn't get any lung sounds so she did a couple x-rays and found Shyla had a very large dilated heart (dilated cardiomyopathy) and could have a possible heart based tumor. Shyla needed to see a cardiac specialist and we arranged an appointment and was preparing her to be transported to the Seattle area. The vet put Shyla's prognosis as guarded to poor. She also had a mass on her tail that maybe was cancer, but it was the least of her worries at the moment. There was a lot of staining around both of her eyes and she was sneezing which may have been an upper respiratory issue.

Shyla was 5 years old, she was underweight with her ribs prominent. It was not ‘just’ a week of no food or water that took its toll on her body—it was a long period of neglect.

Shyla passed away peacefully in her sleep last night at her foster home. At least she didn’t die alone chained behind a store. Rest in peace dear Shyla and know that there are many, many new friends awaiting as you cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Thank you to Yakima Valley Pet Rescue who initially stepped in to help Shyla and to foster dad Jason and to our own board member Kristi who was working so hard to put all the puzzle pieces together so Shyla could receive the care she needed.